A man and woman from Daly City were arrested in Palo Alto on theft-related charges Thursday (Jan. 19) after an alert Palo Alto resident called 911 and police consequently found stolen property in the motel room where the couple was staying.

The resident, who lives near El Camino Real and El Camino Way, returned home Thursday at 9 a.m. to find a man in the walkway near her front door, the police reported in a press release Saturday. A few minutes later, she heard a banging noise coming from her carport, which is adjacent to her residence. Walking outside, she saw the man riding away from the carport on her bicycle.

Officers responded to her 911 call and located Jimmy Leonardo, 35, in the parking lot of Keys School on El Camino Real, just around the corner from the woman's home. The resident positively identified Leonardo, whom police arrested for petty theft. The bike was returned.

Leonardo had rented a room at the Glass Slipper Inn on El Camino, which is two buildings north of Keys School, police said. After additional investigation, Palo Alto detectives found Sandra Ann Lopez, 34, inside Leonardo's motel room, along with other stolen property.

One item, another bicycle, had been recently stolen from an apartment complex in the 300 block of College Avenue, police said. A laptop had been stolen in Menlo Park the night before.

Leonardo was booked into the San Jose Main Jail for petty theft, two counts of possession of stolen property, and for a violation of a domestic-violence restraining order filed by Lopez.

Lopez was arrested on an outstanding $20,000 warrant issued in San Mateo County for burglary, theft and unlawful use of a credit card. Officers located a stolen gift card in Lopez's belongings. The gift card was taken during an auto burglary reported in Belmont on Jan. 14.

Lopez was booked into the San Jose Main Jail for possession of stolen property on the outstanding warrant.

Detectives are conducting follow up investigation on additional items located inside the motel room that they believe may have been stolen.

In the press release, the Palo Alto Police Department reminded residents to lock their homes and vehicles, secure their property and report suspicious people and activity to 911 immediately. A great deal of crime is solved by information provided by residents, according to police.